County Rankings in Soccer

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15/03/2005, 11:56 PM
Thunderblaster

County Rankings in Soccer

Here is my opinion on county rankings in soccer in Ireland

Northern Ireland

1. Antrim
2. Derry
3. Armagh
4. Down
5. Tyrone
6. Fermanagh

Republic of Ireland

1. Dublin
2. Limerick
3. Tipperary
4. Waterford
5. Cork
6. Kilkenny
7. Wexford
8. Louth
9. Westmeath
10. Galway
11. Meath
12. Kerry
13. Wicklow
14. Clare
15. Donegal
16. Sligo
17. Mayo
18. Carlow
19. Kildare
20. Laois
21. Longford
22. Roscommon
23. Monaghan
24. Offaly
25. Cavan
26. Leitrim

These rankings are not based on any particular competition or grade of soccer. Do you agree or disagree with the rankings?
16/03/2005, 6:18 AM
lim abroad

outside of the top 4 the rest come joint 26th,limerick league has to be no 1 though
16/03/2005, 3:28 PM
footstar

It would be a tough call for no. 1 spot between limerick and dublin . :rolleyes:
16/03/2005, 4:10 PM
Goals4fun

I would have thought the clare league would be up further due to the fact that they won the oscar traynor. The rest would be right. There anre only a handful of very good teams in Lim , I am sure there is more than that in Dub !!
16/03/2005, 5:04 PM
Na Chlairsigh

Quote: These rankings are not based on any particular competition or grade of soccer. Do you agree or disagree with the rankings?

Does this mean that Intermediate Leagues can be counted?

If so then I would have Donegal higher in the rankings. The Junior League is fairly decent and could prob be higher in the rankings but ya gotta take into account that the top 12 teams in the county play in the Ulster Senior League.
16/03/2005, 6:24 PM
Patrick Dunne

Can't compare ..

.. EL vs Intermediate vs Junior vs Schoolboys, unless you put a weighting system in place (eg 10 points for EL Premier team, 10 points for Oscar Traynor winner, etc.)

Dublin, of course, is No.1., but I would have thought that Cork would be second based on the quality of players that county has produced. Limerick would have to be top five, possibly third. Donegal 15th, no way. Most of the Finn Harps squad are indigenous and come from local clubs, who play at intermediate level. High standard of football, dont do well at Oscar Traynor or FAI Junior due to "big" clubs being Intermediate (Sorry, have just seen that Na Chlairsigh makes this point already). Same applies to Limerick and Tipperary. Can only think of two Tipp men, Oliie Cahill and Declan Napier, who have made a significant impact at EL level. Perhaps I am incorrect there ?

These rankings look like Junior rankings to me, if so they are fair enough and accurate. Leitrim definitely the worst !

An interesting thread.
16/03/2005, 6:46 PM
Thunderblaster

Quote:

Originally Posted by Na Chlairsigh

Quote: These rankings are not based on any particular competition or grade of soccer. Do you agree or disagree with the rankings?

Does this mean that Intermediate Leagues can be counted?

If so then I would have Donegal higher in the rankings. The Junior League is fairly decent and could prob be higher in the rankings but ya gotta take into account that the top 12 teams in the county play in the Ulster Senior League.

Not all counties have Eircom/Intermediate teams, so it would be a little difficult to weigh up everything. If everything was to be broken down into all the different strands, the rankings would certainly weigh up differently. Not all leagues are strictly county, eg, Leinster Junior League, therefore it would be unfair to base the rankings on the Oscar Traynor Cup. The rankings are based rather on opinion rather than fact. If all results from provincial/national club competitions were collated and weighed, eg, schoolboys, 5 points, junior, 10 points, intermediate, 15 points and Eircom League, 20 points, you would get a fairer and more accurate ranking.
18/03/2005, 9:23 AM
Goals4fun

Quote:

Originally Posted by whistler

Goals for fun,

U are not up to date on junior soccer in the country.
To suggest that there are only a handful of teams in Limerick soccer is way off the mark.
The Limerick league is without doubt the strongest in the country.
Take the top six from Dublin against the top six from Limerick and you will get your answer regarding appearances in latter stages of the FAI, Muns junior etc.
If you look at who is second in Dublin AUL at the moment.
Valley Pk and then look at who is second in Limerick , Fview and there is no comparison.

what about if you look at the bootm of tha tables up. I would expect the bottom six in dub to be better than the bootom six in lim.
correct me if i am wrong ??
18/03/2005, 11:37 AM
Mad Moose

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thunderblaster

Here is my opinion on county rankings in soccer in Ireland

Northern Ireland

1. Antrim
2. Derry
3. Armagh
4. Down
5. Tyrone
6. Fermanagh

Republic of Ireland

1. Dublin
2. Limerick
3. Tipperary
4. Waterford
5. Cork
6. Kilkenny
7. Wexford
8. Louth
9. Westmeath
10. Galway
11. Meath
12. Kerry
13. Wicklow
14. Clare
15. Donegal
16. Sligo
17. Mayo
18. Carlow
19. Kildare
20. Laois
21. Longford
22. Roscommon
23. Monaghan
24. Offaly
25. Cavan
26. Leitrim

These rankings are not based on any particular competition or grade of soccer. Do you agree or disagree with the rankings?

Think the Norn Ireland rankings are quite accurate but their isn't a wile difference between the counties there in terms of clubs.

On the Republic situation I'm a wee bit bemused and not being critical as to how the counties can be ranked. The number one is obvious based on population. Not so sure how Limerick makes it in at number two but maybe just maybe. Football is quite strong in Donegal for obvious reasons and its placing below cast iron GAA strongholds such as Clare (a place I know nothing about), Kerry, Meath or even Kilkenny.

I think its impossible to rank on the basis of county.

Brendan
18/03/2005, 11:55 AM
OpenGoal

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harpsbear

Think the Norn Ireland rankings are quite accurate but their isn't a wile difference between the counties there in terms of clubs.

On the Republic situation I'm a wee bit bemused and not being critical as to how the counties can be ranked. The number one is obvious based on population. Not so sure how Limerick makes it in at number two but maybe just maybe. Football is quite strong in Donegal for obvious reasons and its placing below cast iron GAA strongholds such as Clare (a place I know nothing about), Kerry, Meath or even Kilkenny.

I think its impossible to rank on the basis of county.

Brendan

I play in the Clare league, it is not a particularly strong league at all. 3 or 4 quality sides at the most. I think the reason it is in the position is because of its Oscar Traynor success last year. I would have to say Limerick is the strongest league, at junior level in any case, for the last ten years. Just look at the FAI cup results.

Out of a matter of interest, and perhaps there's something i'm missing here, why is "Football is quite strong in Donegal for obvious reasons"????
18/03/2005, 12:11 PM
blobbyblob

Isnt Sligo/Leitrim all the one is league terms with Manor Rangers or Manorhamilton(leitrim) reaching the 1/4 finals or last years FAI Junior Cup. Sligo also has a senior team in Rovers. Would that not shove them up the rankings...
18/03/2005, 12:20 PM
Mad Moose

Quote:

Originally Posted by OpenGoal

"Football is quite strong in Donegal for obvious reasons"????

Well I suppose the reason's aren't that obvious so it wasn't the most appropriate turn of phrase. The game is deep rooted here and there are variation's depending on where in the county you look. South and West would be GAA predominately but further North and East football is and has always been very much part of the social fabric. We have 4 clubs within a radius of 3 miles. Pretty competitive in that.

Brendan
18/03/2005, 12:40 PM
LFC in Exile

The reason Limerick teams do so well in Junior competitions is because there are no intermediate teams in the city. If you look at Dublin and Cork - the best players play LSL or MSL, so the payers left for junior clubs are not of the same standard. In Limerick there are only junior teams and so the best players play junior. Its that simple. Now if we were to compare the top amateur (non-eL) teams across cities or counties Limerick would not be 1 or 2, Dublin and Cork would be. There is no way the best in Limerick (Fairview, Pike, Balla?) are better than the best in the MSL or LSL. Yes, they are better than the AULs in Cork and Dublin, but as I just said the best players are not available to the AUL teams. :ball:

I am always entertained by the overinflated opinion of junior football in Limerick. :cool:
18/03/2005, 2:30 PM
widow

last year, carrick and pike played the munster senior cup semi final, carrick went on and lost to cork city 2-0 in the final, both carrick and pike beat munster senior league teams on the way, pike hammered, everton and leeds 3 and 4-0 respectively, two of the supposedly stronger teams in the munster senior league, those results don't stand well for the MSL, so to say that limerick junior soccer isn't at a high standard is simply wrong the top limerick teams would definately match the top munster senior league teams
18/03/2005, 2:46 PM
LFC in Exile

Quote:

Originally Posted by widow

last year, carrick and pike played the munster senior cup semi final, carrick went on and lost to cork city 2-0 in the final, both carrick and pike beat munster senior league teams on the way, pike hammered, everton and leeds 3 and 4-0 respectively, two of the supposedly stronger teams in the munster senior league, those results don't stand well for the MSL, so to say that limerick junior soccer isn't at a high standard is simply wrong the top limerick teams would definately match the top munster senior league teams

Look, this is an argument that can't be won. You can point to victories of junior clubs over MSL teams (and by the way Leeds and Everton are not top MSL teams - they are bothj toward the bottom of the MSL - instead talk about UCC, Avondale, Rockmount, Corinthians, Ringmahon). Firstly, these are cup competitions and so hardly point ot one team being better than another. Newcastle beat Chelsea in the FA Cup - are Newcastle a better team? Secondly, I am not saying that Limerick junior teams do not have a high standard for junior football - I am just saying that the top junior clubs in Limerick may be better than the top junior clubs on average anywhere else, but the non-league standard in Limerick is not necessarily any better than it is in Cork or Dublin particularly. :ball:
18/03/2005, 3:12 PM
Goals4fun

Quote:

Originally Posted by whistler

as any good footballing pundit will yell you, you judge the strength of a league not by the bottom half but by the top half.
why don't people accept the strength of the limerick league !

a league should be judged on the full content. You cannot dismiss team lower down. That is what makes up the division. if so the where do you rate the scottish premier league. only two decent teams.......
18/03/2005, 7:03 PM
Thunderblaster

Quote:

Originally Posted by blobbyblob

Isnt Sligo/Leitrim all the one is league terms with Manor Rangers or Manorhamilton(leitrim) reaching the 1/4 finals or last years FAI Junior Cup. Sligo also has a senior team in Rovers. Would that not shove them up the rankings...

Sligo and Leitrim are both ranked separately. The rankings are done by counties; not by leagues.